Daniel Suarez Promoted to No. 19 Cup Series Racer

In December, Daniel Suarez got a phone call that changed his life for the better. Daniel learned that he was promoted to No. 19 Cup Series Racer!

Read more to find out what life changing call Daniel Suarez after just winning the Xfinity Series championship…

Per Daniel Suarez, the Xfinity Series champion was getting a promotion, because the spot was currently occupied until now.

This week, the driver of the No. 19 Toyota in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Carl Edwards announced his departure. Edwards held a news conference to announce he was stepping away from full-time racing.

Now that Edwards has told the world he was leaving racing, Daniel Suarez can speak about his 40-minute call from ARRIS, the sponsor of the No. 19 Toyota in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

“When I came back, Silvia and her parents, they were asking me what was going on because I came back with a smile like this. So, they were asking me what was going on. Well, really I wasn’t able to say anything, so I didn’t say anything.”

As for Suarez, he will make his Cup Series debut in the 59th annual Daytona 500 on Feb. 26.

The three-time Xfinity winner, Daniel Suarez said Wednesday:

“It was just an amazing moment. I wasn’t expecting that at all. I was actually already working with [Xfinity crew chief] Scott [Graves] and the amazing team that I had in 2016 in Xfinity to be ready to open 2017 the same way that we closed in ’16, winning races. And then this came out.”

He added:

I’m “very happy for this opportunity. It’s something that we really were waiting for. It came a little bit sooner than what we were expecting, but I think we are ready, and we’re ready to go, and we are ready to start learning about everything and ready to perform well.”

In regards to the 19 team, Suarez will work the same team Edwards had last year. Dave Rogers will continue to serve as the crew chief for the team and said nothing will change on that front.

Rogers is eager to work with Daniel Suarez, saying:

“I had heard of Daniel Suarez, and I love this sport, so I pay attention to what’s going on. Daniel was going to run an ARCA race (a few years ago,) and so I watched it – he’ll probably be mad at me one day for saying this – I watched him make mistakes. I watched him sit in a really good car and make mistakes, and I’m like, ‘Wow, that kids got some talent. He’s gifted, but he’s young.’”

He concluded:

“I think this is going to be a lot of fun working with someone as motivated as Daniel. I was joking with Carl – Carl’s one of my best friends, love him to death, we’ll be best friends forever – but I told him, ‘Hey, you know what Carl, if you won we’d have the whole state of Missouri cheering us. We’re going to have a whole country (Mexico) cheering us when Daniel wins!’ So, this is a lot of fun.”